Following this morning’s final plenary in which three of the Republican presidential candidates (of course, not Ron Paul) and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta spoke, many of the 13,000 pro-Israel advocates went to Capitol Hill to lobby 530 out of the 535 offices of Senators and Members of Congress. Everyone lobbied on three issues:

-Excluding foreign aid from the potential 9% budget cuts coming in 2013 so that Israel receives $3.1 billion from the United States, as agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding executed between the countries in the last decade

-A resolution stating that all options must remain on the table, except containment, in terms of preventing Iran from acquiring the capability of producing a nuclear weapon

-A resolution which calls for increased cooperation between the United States and Israel so that Israel’s Comparative Military Edge will be secured specifically through acceleration of delivery of F-35 fighter jets and coordination of intelligence activities

I participated in the lobbying of Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Marcia Fudge, Representative Bob Gibbs and Representative Tim Ryan. When meeting with Representatives Gibbs and Ryan, I personally lobbied them on the resolution about Iran. I thanked each of them for co-sponsoring a former resolution in the House, speculated on the terrible things that could happen if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, and asked them each to consider co-sponsoring or at least voting in support of the resolution. Explaining the issues to the House Representatives once again proved to me the importance of creating personal relationships with members of the government so that they vote how I want them to. As well, lobbying demonstrated the importance of AIPAC in both informing me and helping me to inform them on important issues. Lobbying the Senators and Members of Congress was the perfect cumulation to the AIPAC Policy Conference.

As expected, retiring Senator Joe Lieberman was met warmly by the 13,000 attendees at this year’s AIPAC Policy Conference as he is a strong friend of Israel. He began by assuring everyone that, “I am leaving the senate, but I am not retiring.” The moment of his speech which was met by the loudest standing ovation, from the audience, came when he declared the fact that the American Embassy in Israel is not in Jerusalem as one the pieces of unfinished business which he regrets and hopes will soon be rectified. Like all speakers at this year’s conference, he then spoke about Iran. He reiterated Obama’s point that containment is not an option and that all possibilities are still on the table. Lieberman voiced his support of taking military action against Iran, if necessary. “Either you peacefully negotiate and end your illicit nuclear facilities or they will be ended for you be a military attack,” proclaimed Lieberman.

Sovereign State of Mind

Dr. Tal Becker, former advisor to Israel’s minister of foreign affairs and a current International Associate at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, stressed that Israel must think of itself with a sovereign state of mind. This mindset comes from the language used to describe Israel, the feelings Israel broadcasts, and the ability to remember that Israel is a place for all Jewish people. As well, Dr. Becker credited AIPAC for broadcasting Israel’s invincibility to the world.

Superstar Netanyahu

The highlight of the AIPAC Policy Conference is the large gala event. Prior to the event I had the opportunity to meet Senator Sherrod Brown, Congresswoman Betty Sutton and Congressman Tim Ryan. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them and it proved to me the importance of building personal relationships with them in order to encourage them to make pro-Israel votes.

Upon entering the large room with all 13,000 participants at this year’s conference, I could tell that the energy in the room was the highest it has been all conference as everyone was looking forward to hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak. Prior to Netanyahu, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, brought the house down when he announced that if Iran begins to enrich uranium to weapons grade or develop weapon systems to deliver nuclear warheads then he will introduce a resolution so that the United States uses overwhelming force to end the nuclear program. This was the red line, the entire conference had been waiting for.

The longest applause of the entire conference came when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium to speak. The house was buzzing with excitement, which lasted throughout his entire speech. It was unusual for him to speak more than two sentences without receiving a standing ovation. Much of his speech was focused on Iran, and many of his beliefs on the topic were similar to those of President Obama. If Iran is not stopped from obtaining a nuclear weapon, he explained, terrorism will dramatically increase, the strait of Hormuz will close, they will set off a mad dash by the rest of the Middle East to develop nuclear weapons and the entire world will face the threat of nuclear terrorism. He also reiterated almost the exact line that President Obama said, “Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against anyone.” By the time Prime Minister Netanyahu concluded his speech, I had gone from my seat to my feet dozens of times and I truly felt proud to be an Israel activist.

After waiting in a long winding line, with 13,000 other Pro-Israel American Jews, and clearing two levels of security, I was astounded as I entered a massive room in which I would soon hear Israeli President Shimon Peres and President Barack Obama speak.
President Peres stressed the continued, unprecedented relationship and security cooperation between the United States and Israel. He also thanked and praised President Obama for being a strong friend in the White House. I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that he has met every US President for the last 50 years. A key topic at this year’s AIPAC Policy Conference is Iran. In regards to Iran, President Peres stated, “Iran’s regime is based on destruction. It is a danger to the entire world.” In response to what Israel will do to stop Iran he stated, “Peace is always our first option, but if we are forced to fight we will prevail.”
President Obama began his speech with an announcement that he will be awarding President Peres the highest civilian honor in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, later this spring. The highlights of his speech included his statement, “I have no policy of containment; I have a policy to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” and “Israel must always have the ability to protect itself, by itself, against any threats.” In addition to the comments relating to Iran, Obama reminded the crowd of his administration’s Pro-Israel track record.

Peace with Palestinians vs. Peace with Terrorists

After the morning plenary, the group breaks into over a hundred smaller break out sessions of individual interest. I started with a session titled, “A Final Settlement: The Past and Future of Peace Agreements.” When two well informed and influential analysts “from opposite sides of the aisle” agree, you have to listen. Ambassador Martin Indyk and Mr. Elliott Abrams, who have served at a high level for Democratic and Republican administrations respectively, both believe that Israeli-Palestinian peace is highly unlikely in the short term. Interestingly enough, they explained that while the Palestinian leaders may be ready for peace, the Palestinian people are not yet ready. They both believe that the potential for peace is so slim that the term “peace process” should be retired.

My second breakout, “Terrorism After the Arab Spring,” on the other hand, left me more optimistic as Dr. Daniel Byman, the Director of Research at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, and a Professor at Georgetown University, suggested that at least in the near future, the Arab Springs will most likely be beneficial to Israel’s security. The Arab Spring, was a blow to Al Qaeda, and has taken the focus off of Israel.

The Ohio Delegation back row from left, Adam Rosenberg, Noah Ickowicz, Jacob Popper, Nate Shiffman, Matt Fisher. Front row from left, Esther Bergson, Alana Friedman, Sydney Ungar, Alyssa Schor and Hallie Israel.

In addition to WOFI, the Northeast Ohio delegation also included Alyssa Schor, Sydney Ungar, Jacob Popper Nate Shiffman and Noah Ickowitz representing BBYO and Hallie Israel and Matt Fisher from The Temple Tifereth Israel. Leora Hoenig of Cleveland BBYO and Ari Milgrom of The Temple-Tifereth Israel attended the trip as advisors. Noa Rabinowitz, AIPAC staffer from Beachwood, helped ensure the delegates had a good experience.

For another WOFI Fellow, Alana Friedman, the most memorable event was lobbying for Israel at the Capital. The ten teens from Northeast Ohio traveled together to Capitol Hill preparing short speeches on different topics the congresswoman needs to know about Israel- Iran, the peace process and the need for foreign aid. “It was an amazing opportunity to be able to talk to someone directly involved in congress,” said Alana.

Esther Bergson, another WOFI Fellow, was initially unenthusiastic about attending the AIPAC conference. Slowly, she became more excited and anxious, unaware of the incredible experience she was about to encounter.
“The setup of the seminars was impeccable, creating an interactive environment that encouraged every student to make a contribution to the discussion. Everybody had similar views and came together to create such a strong and reassuring environment that anybody-whether educated about the conflict in the Middle East or not- would feel completely comfortable with,” she reported.

The sixth annual conference brought 407 high school students from 28 states representing 130 different schools.
“Meeting the hundreds of other students was an interesting experience for me, said Bergson. I was shocked to find so many young adults that I could relate with and have a good time with. The AIPAC High School Summit was a life-changing experience for me that provided me with a great deal of knowledge and insight into the world of politics involving Israel and the United States,” said Bergson.

Esther Bergson attends Cleveland Heights High School, Alana Friedman attends Montessori High School at University Circle and Adam Rosenberg attends Hudson High School.

This trip has been an amazing and eye-opening experience. I’ve been told that the places and people we’ve visited are not the usual stops that one makes on a tour of Israel. However, visiting places such as the qassam-terrorized town of S’derot (spelled ‘Sederot’ on the road signs, which I’ve been told by residents of the town is wrong) and the Arab village of Jassar Az-Zarka has been informative and extremely fun [respectively]; I wouldn’t have planned the trip any other way.

WOFI has gone above and beyond in training us to become good advocates for Israel. What I have learned on this trip is only a culmination for what we have learned in the sessions before, and what I assume we will learn in year two. That is, I’ve learned that there are two sides to every story, and the situation is much more complicated than it seems. It’s also really been driven home that Israel is not doing so well on the world stage in terms of public relations, and that it needs as many people fighting for it abroad as it can get. Most of all, however, I’ve learned just how little I know.

WOFI is a unique program, in that it helps us develop the skills that we need to become good advocates for any cause, not just for Israel. It also helps us to hone our writing skills, and encourages us to become critical thinkers when it comes to the news and debating. Thanks to the help of Amnon, Tina, Cindy, Ellen, and Rabbi Unterberg, we have developed as advocates, journalists, and people.

More than that, however, is that WOFI has provided me a chance to get to know people my own age, all along the religious spectrum. I can say with absolute certainty that I would not have ever interacted with, or even met, many of the people who I now consider to be close friends without this program. Seriously, though, clichés aside, this is honestly the nicest group of kids that I have ever been a part of. Instead of being a cliquey group where everyone only stuck to the people they already knew, we became a WOFI family. We ate together, played frisbee together, survived Moshe’s driving together, laughed about our sketchy hotel in Jerusalem together, and (most importantly and frequently) went to the bathroom together. I honestly can’t wait until sessions start again next year, because I want to learn more about advocating for Israel and I’m also honestly going to miss everybody on this trip.

Thank you to everybody who has made this trip possible, including (but not limited to): Amnon, Tina, Ellen, Cindy, Rabbi Unterberg, Oren(!!), Moshe, and all of the various presenters and speakers who have talked to us over the year and over the trip. Also, thank you to you, our parents. Some of you may have forced us into the program, while others might have been skeptical about letting their kids go to a foreign country on their own; however, without your support, guidance, and money, none of us would have ever found our ways to this trip.

See you all in the States!

“STAND UP!” The portly British man shouts. And so I do, hands shaking. “How dare you assert that Israelis are in the right when they constantly oppress Palestinians?!” He demands.
I start into a reply, but before I can get too far, he’s pretending to snore – then he’s back to ridicule. “Sit down! Damn gingies. Next person, you!” And now it’s someone else’s turn to run the gauntlet.
Meet Neil Lazarus, founder of Awesome Seminars and “… expert in the field of Middle East, Israel advocacy and effective communication training.” His boisterous, excitable, but highly educated and self-aware personage was the focus of our final seminar in the land of Israel. Mr. Lazarus started off with the diatribe above – a demonstration of the concept that debate with a “real” activist is often one-sided, even humiliating, and proceeded to highlight the way in which he believed we should advocate: With emotion, conviction, and a good-sized helping of ego.
“Don’t address the person you’re debating,” he suggests. “Address your audience.” By this, he means that when one wishes to argue a point, one’s goal should be to sway the maximum number of people – and that telling emotional stories, stretching the truth, and putting tears in peoples’ eyes is more important than focusing on the reality.
As one of only a few seminars on our trip dedicated to specific “hows” of advocacy, it was a refreshing presentation, peppered with humor and useful facts. Mr. Lazarus was clearly intelligent and well-spoken, not to mention entertaining, but in my opinion there is a clear problem with his message: When attempts were made to address issues, not emotions, he was very dismissive: The facts are “putting [him] to sleep,” “completely without emotion,” or otherwise unimportant.
As an advocate, I am not interested in making people cry. I am interested in fixing problems and making the situation better. According to Mr. Lazarus, the practical approach is the wrong approach – too much substance makes people disengage. Perhaps this is true, but I say that if our audience is looking for sadness and not substance, they may wish to search for a less complex issue to rally around than the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
After the trip concludes, Max will be writing a Field Guide to Write-on for Israel, containing his reflections and experiences from the trip. Visit it online at http://wofi.bwmtech.com!

To take a break from falafel and shawarma, we all enjoyed Pasta Basta for lunch, a not-so-elegant shop in Machane Yehuda, a shuk in Jerusalem.

We met up with our best friend Becca Levinsky, who we hadn’t seen since Shabbos, so that she could show us the wonders of the urban kibbutz where she is spending her gap year. A few of the students there explained the dynamics of the pluralistic kibbutz and told us why they had chosen to spend a year there, either as a pre-college or pre-army program. Instead of having an agricultural focus the urban kibbutz focuses on the Jewish value of fixing the world through acts of kindness in the community, specifically through volunteering at the Jerusalem equivalent of an inner-city school. A very animated Amnon tried to explain to the group that we would benefit from spending our gap years on that kibbutz.

We enjoyed a few hours of free time at Malcha Mall seeing the stunning fashion and the outspoken personalities of Israelis.

On the bus ride back to the hotel, we all (especially Tina) enjoyed a retelling of our favorite quotes from the trip, some of the craziest things some of us have ever said.

We would like to dedicate this blog to two very special women, Sandra Melody Shmuckler Hershkowitz (the most beautiful woman in the whole entire world) and to Debra Marla Schatten Shaw (the best Jewish mother in the whole entire world), whom Amnon declared the best WOFI parents in the whole entire world.